Letters to Sakura
by BurrbleFish
Summary: It's Thanksgiving tomorrow, and Kakashi gives his class an assignment - a letter of gratitude. Sakura's friends put pen on paper and write out their gratitude for her as she lays in a hospital bed, stuck in a coma. For some, they simply wish her back. For others, they are forced to reflect on just how much she means to them. One-shot. Fluff. :: MultiSaku, NejiSaku


**• Rated T: for some language •**

* * *

**• LETTERS TO SAKURA •**

* * *

Kakashi circled the classroom with a careless gait, splitting a stack of blank loose-leaf paper and dropping some on each front desk. In turn, the students took one and passed it back as the teacher stepped away to lean against his desk.

Dark eyes surveyed the room.

"As you all know, Thanksgiving is just around the corner," he began as the class settled. "Your only assignment today is to write a letter of thanks."

Just as Naruto began to speak, Kakashi lifted a hand. His voice was instantly muted.

"Before you so kindly go on, I want you to take this assignment seriously." Large hands brushed through silver locks with an expression no one could identify. "I want you all to stop and reflect on what is really happening around you. People - they nowadays don't understand what's really 'ghetto' or worse. People don't understand how good they have it."

The usually cool gaze lifted towards the class, and again an unreadable expression entered his eyes.

"Your assignment is to write a letter of gratitude of what you have, not what you want. Whether it's a person or a thing or a general idea, do it. You get points for participation today. And if you write about a person, try sending it to them. That person deserves to know how thankful you are of them."

Life was breathed back into the class when his eyes crinkled in a smile behind his mask. It broke the thick tension.

"That is all, kiddies. Get to work."

He clapped his hands together once in semi-enthusiasm, then rounded his desk to sit down.

It was then that Naruto finally asked the question he'd wanted to ask earlier:

"Has Sakura-chan woken up from her coma yet?"

The silence he was met with was enough of an answer to him.

* * *

Dear Sakura-chan,

Wow, I'm really bad with words. But I think that's okay. Kakashi-sensei's making us do this weird assignment. I kinda like it though (don't tell him, please). I get to tell you things even though you're...um not really with us.

I really miss you, Sakura-chan. If I could take that day back, I would. But I guess that's in the past. At least that's what teme's been telling himself.

But aaanywaaays. I tried this new ramen flavor. Cheddar ramen. It's THE singlemost (did I use that word right?) greatest ramen flavor I have ever had.

Tied with beef and chicken and pork and miso and all that stuff. But it's the bomb.

Wake up soon, Sakura-chan.

So we can try that ramen together (:

Love, The Greatest Man Alive, Naruto

* * *

Sakura,

What a stupid assignment. So annoying. Naruto over there keeps blabbing about how amazing his grammar is for once. I, of course, believe none of that bullshit. We - and the whole world - know that the only A+ he'd ever achieve is in lunch.

But he does make good points. I suppose. Ignoring the ramen bit, and for the most part, he gets the idea.

A letter of gratitude was the assignment. I'm going to hold off on that area of the assignment though.

It's easier to show my gratitude in person.

Come back to the world. It's weird having only one loudmouth around me 24/7.

Sasuke

* * *

Oh dear Forehead o'mine,

Hey, beautiful. I miss your annoyingly blunt brain, y'know? There was this CRAZY sale at KM on Saturday, and I bought THE cutest clothes of all time. Like, no joke. Literally, I had to have like, my brother and the boys carry all the bags for me before I gave myself carpal tunnel or something.

But back on topic.

Sensei wanted us to write letters of thanks to people we're thankful for. I'm thankful for you, y'know. You're my forever bestie (yeah, I said bestie. Deal with it, ho). Where would I be without your huge forehead to lead the way?

Come back soon, Billboard Brow.

I got the cutest dress for you to try on c:

Love, Ino

* * *

Sakura,

Hey babe, I miss your sweet ass rubbing off on my day, haha. You're the main pimp, and what are hoes without their pimp? ;) Hahaha, but all joking aside, I really do miss you. My brothers and I alike.

Seriously. Kankuro comes to school every day wailing about how you're gone. Gaara on the other hand, is a little bit of a sadder sight. He looks like such a lost puppy when he comes to school and you're not in the seat in front of him. Sigh, such a hopeless boy.

I wanted to say thank you for being there for me. But most of my thanks is for my brother. I don't think either of them are the type to write, especially Gaara when it comes to feelings, but I'm speaking on the ginger's behalf.

Before he met you, I'd say he was a lost cause (as I so bluntly put it). There was no survival in our family for any of us - in his case the most.

But you took life and crammed it down his throat. Apparently, a much needed wake up call.

Ah, shit. I'm reaching the bottom of my damn paper. Okay, I miss you tons babe. Hurry back hahaha.

Love, Temari

* * *

Dear Sexy Lady,

I sure do hope that you're thinking about me while you're in that coma of yours. If it gets a little dirty, well, I'm not complaining (;

Haha, but seriously. Nothing's been the same without you around. It's like you took the color with you when you um, you left. Not to get overly emotional, but you know.

I just really wish you were here with us. Lunch is quiet and boring and hanging out gets kinda awkward whenever we look at your bean bag chair and you're not in it.

Thank God we found out you'd make it. That helped things a little.

All that's left is for you to wake up and give us all the hugs we missed getting, right? We love you, Sakura~!

Love, Kiba

* * *

Sakura,

It's very easy for things to quickly lose color, may it be both abstract or literal things. Life loses color when things turn bleak. People lose color when they near death. Almost always does that cycle occur, and rarely is anything ever gaining color.

But then there's you.

I've grown up with you, understood how much you've changed. I've seen it firsthand.

You are much like a butterfly, Sakura. You were once this awkward caterpillar, who was so lost in the world. But then you reached a period in life where you wanted to change. That was your chrysalis. The summer of freshman year was your cocoon. And then you hatched and became this beautiful butterfly.

Your color was vibrant and your movements were strong. You never toppled over.

When this comatose state took you, that moment of dread looked like a thumbtack stapling down your wings to a pedestal.

But when we found out you'd wake up, it turned more into like another cocoon.

Come back, Sakura. Wake up and return with broader wings and brighter color. Come back a beautiful butterfly.

We miss you.

Shino

* * *

Sakura,

I guess all good things can come to an end. But sometimes I'd like to think that this isn't the end, if you get what I mean.

Whenever I try to make that white sauce mozzarella pasta recipe you left me, I can't ever get it right. And I'm not the only one who thinks that taste is off.

I make it, and it comes out not at all what you once made. The noodles are always either dry or soggy, never perfect. The sauce is either plain or salty. The chicken either over or under cooked. I don't like that. It's not right.

I don't know if it's me that's messing up. Or if it's the fact that you're not here to help me.

You're not here to better me.

I hope you wake up soon, Sakura. So we can fix up what I've been doing wrong.

Sincerely, Chouji

* * *

Dear Sakura-chan,

Hi. I hope things are going well in your comatose state and that it's not at all painful for you to be locked up in sleep for a while. I'm so very glad to hear that you'd be okay. Those first few months of hearing your stability fluctuate was a scary period for all of us.

When the doctors said that you were absolutely stable and set to wake up, there was this relief that washed over everyone that heard.

I do hope your mind is treating you kind over there.

It's about Thanksgiving holiday now, and my gratitude goes to you. I'm not just thankful for you being well and alive, but for all that you have done for me since we were young.

I stuttered a lot, I had no confidence in myself, I felt like a lost cause. But you approached me first. You introduced me into your family of friends. You patched my relationship with my Father, with Neji-nii, and with the rest of my social class.

You've given me more than I could ever ask for, more than I could ever repay.

I can't ever be thankful enough for that.

Please come back to us soon, Sakura-chan.

We... I...

I need my angel back.

Love, Hinata

* * *

Ugly,

Get hit with a car and you lose yourself to a forever-sleep, won't you, Hag? I guess that's the fun part about accidents (in a cynical way, of course).

But all regular joking aside, since this is my private letter, I can be a bit honest, I suppose.

Perhaps I don't always tell the truth. Especially when it comes to appearance. And especially when it comes to yours.

Hurry back.

Sai

P.S. You're not ugly at all.

* * *

Sakura,

It's not every day when you hear you suddenly lose someone you love. And when that applied to us, really, no one could understand. Maybe it was God punishing us, or some other divine bastard pulling a really bad prank.

But then it was true.

I'm truly thankful for the amount of time you invest in your friends. Wait, let me rephrase that. I'm thankful for how much you care for us.

Without you, it's safe to say that my brain would never be as developed as it is now. You give me challenges - not just academic challenges. You provide a stepping stone for me, and I, you, and together, we've built a complete empire as rulers of the school.

Dat academic life doe.

Come back, happy and healthy, Sak.

I can't rule alone.

That'd be too troublesome.

Shikamaru

* * *

My Beautiful Cherry Blossom!

Oh, how the heavens weep at the loss of an angel! I have cried a thousand tears upon hearing your comatose state! Oh, the lotus closes in protection against our prying eyes!

Today is a day of gratitude, and my gratitude goes to my one true blossom. She, whose beauty is unrivaled by even the most beautiful sakura tree that ever existed, is a forever unwilting source of wonder.

You, my one true love, are forever in full blossom!

Never will your petals fade and your stem wilt!

Awaken soon and let youth shine down on your grace!

Lee!

* * *

Sakura,

You are one badass chick for taking whatever that truck had for you. And you're definitely the epitome of awesomeness for still pushing against it.

But in all seriousness, the amount of hurt that went around the room when we heard you were semi-gone was just unbelievable.

I mean, I never really knew you on a personal level at the time despite how indirectly connected we are. But I wish I did know you. From all of the stories I've heard about you, you seem really cool. Not once has Temari insulted you - now you've gotta be some sort of Kami.

Still, even though I don't know you, I'm thankful for having somewhat met you. And I really do hope to meet you. For real this time.

The way you affect these people so deeply, it must mean you're someone totally not worth passing up.

And I'd like to take that up for myself (:

Sincerely, Tenten

* * *

Sakura,

Hey, beautiful (:

You wouldn't believe how much people miss you over here. But to be fair, I'm one of those people XD

Considering how quickly Temari just put down her pencil, she probably already talked about this. But it's worth talking about it, too.

You know about our brother and our asshole of a father. You know our entire story. But you wanna know what we love the most about you? It's the fact that even though you know about our entire story, you never once judged. You never thought about what our background was. You never cared about what we used to be. All you care about is who we are now.

For that, I could never be thankful enough, just like how my sister probably has said. And like anyone could ever say, Gaara is probably the one that we're the most thankful over the most.

You really are an angel from the heavens, huh? :P

Love, Kankuro

* * *

Sakura,

Kankuro is a bastard.

Temari's a bitch.

But you're the greatest thing.

Since Garfield catnip.

Probably at this point

Kankuro and Tem

Think I'm writing something deep

Well, joke's on them :P

That was really out of character for me, I admit. But I already know what they've probably written about me. Chances are, they're on point.

I'd never admit this out loud. I'm really, really bad with talking out how I feel. But I can't deny what I feel (explaining - that's what bites my ass).

I'll keep it short. I really do miss you. And I think they've said enough about me that I can hold off on repeating in a third letter.

This has also gotten extremely out of hand on the weirdness factor.

But eh.

Love, Gaara

P.S., when Ibiki-sensei asks you what ten plus nine is, say it's twenty-one. It's been driving him insane. He thinks it's a gang-thing. Poor sucker.

* * *

Sakura,

I think by now you know that I'm not very good with words. I'm not good with feelings or emotions or anything all that humane.

But what I can definitely identify is gratitude. The amount of that I hold for you can't be expressed within the boundaries of one language.

That accident made me think. Ordinarily, when it happened, you'd think that my life flashed before my eyes. It didn't. All that I saw in that very moment was you barrel down the street and shove me aside. All I felt was adrenaline when I heard the truck's horn and the asphalt graze harshly against my side.

All I could emotionally feel was horror at the fact - the realization - that I wasn't fast enough to pull you aside with me, and that you took the hit instead.

The way your body rebounded off of the concrete - that alone made me believe you were dead right then and there.

I could here my insides crumble in agony at the way you lied broken on the ground. The fact that I could have stopped it, pulled you away in time - when that registered, I wanted to die.

A life for a life was my mindset.

And then I heard you would live. That you'd be fine and alive and you would wake up some day. I'm waiting intensely, impatiently for that day.

Kakashi-sensei gave us an assignment to write about who we were thankful for. This particular one applies to you immensely.

Thank you for risking your life to save me.

Thank you for putting yourself into a coma to let me live.

Thank you for running down the street to protect me.

Thank you for finding my stray cat.

Thank you for picking up the pieces that Tenten left when she dumped me.

Thank you for mending my relationship with my uncle.

Thank you for making me understand Hinata.

Thank you for picking up my pencil.

Thank you for buying me dinner.

Thank you for lending me your calculator.

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for cherishing me.

Thank you for stepping into my life.

For destroying my walls.

For thawing my heart.

For saving my soul.

For showing me kindness.

Thank you for living.

Neji

* * *

Silver eyes surveyed the surroundings, and these eyes told of a Hyuuga. More specifically, Neji Hyuuga.

The said quite beautiful boy covered the hallway with an even stride, not once breaking composition. His gaze locked on a specific door, picking up pace just a tad to get inside.

He paused before the white door frame, subconsciously wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell of medicine and linen in the hospital. It was a smell he so dearly hated - it smelled clean. Way too clean for comfort.

But this door held a lot of meaning to him.

Behind it, was the girl that he - and many of his friends - so dearly cared for. She'd risked her life for him that day. The day his mind and his emotions were in chaos and he did the stupidest thing he could ever do.

The images from that moment were so vivid and clear, that it was almost surreal.

Neji clenched the fist that gripped the doorknob, eyes twisted shut in pain at the memory.

If he could rewind time... Save her. Push her out of the way. Take her place.

He would.

It was the one moment in his life that he regretted. He had a decision to make and he chose wrong.

Hot tears suddenly hit the tiles beneath his feet, and in a pathetic attempt at putting himself back together, he roughly wiped them away with the sleeve of his shirt.

It didn't at all quell the ache in him.

Seeing her broken, holding her limp body in his arms. It made him think just how thankful he was of her existence.

Sure, she was annoying and constantly nagging him like a mother, but it was her nature. She was like a hen and he and their friends, her baby chicks. When she was in the hospital, they were so lost without her.

He was lost without her.

She was the water, the sun, the soil that kept their system functioning and alive. And she took that with her when she fell into the abyss.

God, how much he wished he could face her.

Today would be the first time he'd visit her in the hospital.

After the accident, he was there with her in the ambulance. He was there with her when she was being rushed to the ER and straight into surgery. And he was there to hear from the doctor about her condition.

But since then, he never visited. He couldn't bring himself to see her.

Thanksgiving was today. Kakashi-sensei's assignment forced him to reflect on the memories he could barely swallow. And he knew he wasn't the only one.

His friends and his teacher were producing a tense atmosphere that it nearly made Neji suffocate and give in. As soon as his pen touched his paper, he just wrote.

Neji sucked in a quivering breath and shakily regained his Hyuuga composure.

This was it.

His hand tightened on the handle and he pushed it down, moving the door aside.

The first thing he saw were flowers, dozens of them in all sorts of brilliant colors. The white walls were blindingly bright at the sunshine filtering in from the open window.

The bed, covered in white sheets, had no life in it. It was in disarray, like someone stepped out in a hurry.

Neji couldn't register what this meant. This alone, being here, shocked him enough. He didn't hear the door creak behind him. Didn't register the gasp of mild surprise.

All he understood was the rush of wind as he quickly turned around. He saw a blur of pink and green and did nothing but press her soft body against his quivering one.

His mind was on overdrive, flooding all of his senses with just her.

"I loved your letter the most, Neji."

Nothing, but her.

* * *

****•** Well, that probably was terribly written, but please don't kill me. *gets shot* •**

**• So, I wrote this in honor of Thanksgiving. The idea of the assignment was based off of a real assignment my English teacher actually gave us on Wednesday. We had to write about who we were thankful for, and I wrote about my boyfriend. •**

**• It forced a lot of us - me especially - to reflect on how great and easy we have it compared to people who were suffering the daily hardships of life. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was a real eye-opener hahaha. •**

**• Also, sorry about posting this a day late. I was out of town for a bit and lost contact with some technology LOL. But it's up now, and I definitely hope you guys liked it. I've got a Christmas story going up soon so stay tuned for that. Current men in line for it are: Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Gaara, Sai, Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, aaaand Hidan. I'm probably missing a lot. Tell me who else you guys want!•**

**• What'd you guys do for Thanksgiving? •**

**\- burrblefish**


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